“We investigated possible OB sites around Shirwell in North Devon. We still need some confirmation, so if there are any family members out there who can point us in the right direction or confirm what we have found please contact us (here).

After a great lunch (we are civilised researchers!) we moved onto Bideford.

Sadly we couldn’t find anyone to get permission to access one recorded possible OB site. That will have to wait for another day.

We went to a couple of sites where bomb stores were recorded. Perfect distance from the OB for different targets. One site has now been built on and the other is sadly a wood full of rubbish !

An Auxiliers daughter told us that explosives were also stored under the floor of the ‘Old Mission Chapel’. We found that in a bit of a sorry state but again perfect distance from the recorded OB.

A good wander around the area gave us a real feel for the Patrol movements and targets. A great day out !”

This one-off documentary explores the secretive and strange arms race between Britain and the Nazis during WW2.

Convinced that the path to victory lay in out gunning the Nazis but faced with limited resources, British weapon manufactures were forced to improvise.

To combat the problem, Winston Churchill himself set-up a secret clandestine research institute, dedicated to coming up with super weapons that would give troops the edge in battle. He christened the department Military Defence 1 but it quickly becomes known as Churchill’s toyshop.

Using rare archive and interviews, the one-off special tells the story of the department and some of the most fantastic and improbable weapons ever created. With the help of modern experts and contemporary blue prints the series will also recreate some of the lost technology. [Source: Sky]

Eric Anthony Sykes is most famous for his work with William E. Fairbairn in the development of the Fairbairn-Sykes Fighting Knife and modern British Close Quarters Battle (CQB) martial arts during World War II. The Fairbairn-Sykes knife was used by nearly every Auxilier in the UK.

Phil Matthews is a researcher into the Combative Arts and their Instructors and he firmly believe that none of the Instructors suddenly appeared out of “no-where” to serve the Allies in their time of need. He has prepared a really in-depth look at this man and has kindly shared it with us.